Their fair too

🖊️Adrija Das

 

A Book fair is made successful not only by the book publishers or writers or the guild members. Such a huge fair is only possible for hands of those people who work hard all day and night. They might not be the mind makers but they are the labourers who work to set up the stalls to put up the banners, clean the field and set up all the books and also make sure that the roads are organised and clean. They make sure that everything is set up all together but despite all their hard work they are never appreciated.

Appreciating the importance and contribution of the workers is crucial to the success of project. These workers or labourers efforts are more than the publisher and authors and writers. Without their constant effort, working day and night at the stalls to clean the roads and washrooms such a big fair would not occur.

Here is the big question apart from setting up the fair do these labourers, sweepers, worker also bring their family at the Book Fair? Do they buy books for their children or for themselves?

They are present everywhere in the fair, but we choose not to see them, let us talk to few of them who make the 48th International Kolkata Book pleasant for the visitors.

We met a middle-aged woman, who works as a cleaner at the ladies toilet. From her looks it was evident that it was time for her to retire and sit at home. When I asked her what does this book fair mean for her, she said “book fair is a matter for survival as my son is disabled and I am working to make sure that his treatment happens and he gets at least two square meals.”

“I come to book fair for the money. For us survival is more important than anything. To give our family two meals is our priority. My son studies in a municipal school. I can't afford to take books for him. Whatever free books he gets is all,” said a sweeper, who visits home in Machlandapur once a week.

We spoke to few other labourer who travelled miles from their homes to earn a living working in fair grounds like this. Books hardly matter for them. They have no time to dip in the intellectual pleasures after a day’s hard raw labour. At the end of book fair only a handful of them makes sure that they get back home with at least one book for their kids. But they keep waiting for the next book fair.

While we buy read decorate and romanticise books, they tone up their frail muscles for another year of setting the backdrop for us yet again.